Electric/hybrid vehicles typically include a plurality of batteries to provide a source of energy for the vehicle. These batteries are tightly grouped together in order to save space within the vehicle, and are typically secured to a mounting structure that in turn is mounted to the vehicle.
Conventional mounting structures typically consist of a number of piece parts, each of which are formed from advanced composite materials in order to save weight, which is an important design requirement with electric/hybrid vehicles. However, there are several disadvantages to these conventional multi-piece advanced composite structures. For example, the fabrication of each of the parts from composite materials is a complicated, time-consuming and costly process, which adds a considerable amount of cost to the vehicle. Moreover, the assembly of the various piece parts is also a complicated and time-consuming process, which also increases the overall cost of the vehicle. In addition, there is a much higher probability of failure of the mounting structure due to separation at the joints where various composite parts are fastened together. Finally, the large number of holes that are typically required in the composite piece parts reduces the strength of the overall structure.
Accordingly, it would be desirable to have a system and method of retaining a plurality of batteries for an electric/hybrid vehicle that overcomes the disadvantages described.